Persons with cancer often develop nutritional complications as a result of their disease or its treatment, and, in turn, nutritional deficiencies are known to diminish an individual's ability to tolerate therapies and to recover from the disease. Little is known concerning methods through which the quantity and quality of oral intake of the cancer patient can be augmented by the health professional. The major objective of the proposed project is to conduct a clinical nursing experiment designed to evaluate the effectiveness of three specific nursing intervention protocols and a control nursing condition on the food intake patterns, nutritional status and performance status of cancer patients. Respectively, these intervention protocols will involve emphasis on frequent nutritional supplements, pre-prandial relaxation techniques, and pre-prandial oral hygiene techniques. Subjects will be followed over an eighteen month period. The accuracy of the nutritional assessment methodology to be used will also be determined. The anticipated result of this project will be a preliminary system for assessing the malnourished or potentially malnourished cancer patient and prescribing subsequent nutritional interventions. Such a system may enable nurses to improve the nutritional well-being of cancer patients, thus enhancing their response to therapy and the quality of their lives.